In hopes that I might help to stop all of this speculation, rampant rumors, and general lack of knowledge regarding the Loop and its current state of affairs, I thought I would post my own take on all this. If you are interested, please proceed to the message below. If not, please close this window. This includes anyone who wants to start a bashing war of ANY sort about this. Do not insult me or what I have to say. That has gone on way to f***ing much on here. END OF DISCLAIMER. Proceed to message below.
Hokay, so here's the Loop, CHS, Railstar, and lots of other stuff.....
JUST PUT 2 AND 2 TOGETHER FOLKS!!!!!!!!!!
Things were/weren't done. Railstar did an okay job of making things work with very limited resources. CHS screwed themselves and everyone involved. Short of intervention of the Almighty Himself, the Loop will probably not open for the 2007 season (this is my own personal opinion, take it for what its worth). END OF STORY.
To put it bluntly, and to confirm many suspicions and fears, the current situation regarding the Loop is a dire one. The @#$%& has hit the proverbial fan, as it were. It appears to me that CHS has finally run out of money allocated towards the Loop project. Hence, there is no more money to fix the #9, #12, or continue the work on #111.
So, CHS/Railstar now have 3 steam locomotives torn apart in various states of repair/disrepair. #30/74 from Boulder is NOT BEING REBUILT FOR OPERATION. I do not know any details regarding #30/74 beyond this.
In regards to #9 and its apparent lack of repairs: just put 2 and 2 together folks.
CHS management + little $$ + little time + lack of adequate repairs = bad
The engine was thrown together because CHS was crying bloody murder for their precious "historic" locomotive to return to the Loop. Virtually nothing was done to #9's running gear. Its as if the engine was pulled off Morning Star, had water pumped into her boiler, and a fire thrown in the firebox. Oh yeah, and a pretty paint job too. That's pretty much what the engine is. Cool locomotive, but lousy rebuild. #9 is proof of "brand-new-worn-out".
As a disclaimer, please do not take any of the above as complete fact, or quote me on it. I would be happy to answer any specific questions that I can via e-mail. Also, if anyone is wondering, NO I am not going back up to work on the Loop. Not unless DRASTIC, EARTH-SHATTERING changes are made. Please do not be upset with me for working with Railstar. It was an interesting experience, and one that I learned much from, on many fronts.
My regards to you all,
~Shane Schabow
Mechanical Engineering Student, University of Colorado at Boulder
